Actually, this hack is the work of three previously separate teams, all pooling their resources together for a common goal. They worked day and night for absolutely no financial gain of their own, all to try and bring this game they love so dearly to the small, but dedicated English-speaking audience who craves it.
Even if you have no interest in the Mother series, taking a look at the Starmen.net site just to witness how deeply devoted these fans are is in itself worth the (free) price of admission. The site is a painstakingly detailed account of everything about the Mother series. From interviews with the developers, to fan art posted more than twice a week; to a library of screens, movies, and text based info on each game in the series including the canceled N64 entry; to walkthroughs, message boards, links to auctions of Mother related swag, the list of content on this site is nearly endless. These primarily Western born men and women are dedicated to a game series that has almost no recognition or appreciation by the gaming public of their native land. Can you imagine Japan's Halo fans being this dedicated? I sure can't.
It takes a lot for such dedicated fans to rebel against the company that created the games they hold so dear, creating an unauthorized hack. To the credit of the Starmen.net team, they've tried on many occasions to convince Nintendo to translate Mother 3 themselves. They created a huge print based anthology of their love of the series, and sent it to the game's eccentric creator Shigesato Itoi, as well as multiple employees at Nintendo of America and Japan. They scored an interview with Nintendo Power about, among other things, their near fanatical desire for NoA to translate Mother 3 into English. They started a Wii-specific group to try and rally people to pester Nintendo through the Everybody Votes Channel. And all their attempts to convince NoA to translate Mother 3 themselves continue today in the multi-tiered effort the Starmen call EB Siege.
So they tried everything they could to get Nintendo to do the right thing, but they just didn't seem to give a rat's ass. It makes me want to jump up onto my high horse about how Nintendo of America needs to start employing less uncreative, soulless salary men, and start employing actual videogame loving adults like myself, but that wouldn't be too professional. Plus, I've never actually applied for a job at Nintendo, so I can't really blame them for not hiring me.
I am more excited about this short fan translation vid than I am about either of those respectably budgeted, but mostly souless and generic tasting, Final Fantasy XIII trailers we just recently posted. Mother 3 is still my most wanted RPG of 2008, even though it came out in Japan in 2006. It is an original voice in a crowd of JRPGs that mostly have nothing new to say.
You're much manlier now, go have some fun.
Awesome. :D
He ran into a dinosaur..
I'm glad to see the translation team is making significant progress. It just sucks to see Nintendo utterly deny such a close, hardcore community from an amazing game. Nintendo doesn't care about bla...er...America.
This moment makes me proud to be a member of Starmen.net
As you should be. The only community that I respect as much as the D-Toid community is the good folks of Starmen.
I've personally sent in "Mother 3: Want it? or Really Want it?" at least 50 times on the Everybody Votes Channel.
I luv starmen!!
yay!!! Geez, I didn't check updates for a week or so, and I missed this!? Starmen.net are my heroes. I also respect the Starmen a little more than most online communities, as it is such a great collection of the minds, and above all, love...which comes out in big ways.
Mother 3 in english....
As a certain king would say...
DO WANT!
I am more excited about this short fan translation vid than I am about either of those respectably budgeted but mostly souless and generic tasting Final Fantasy XIII trailers
Absolutely.
My only dilemma is whether to watch this now, or hold out for the day they complete this translation and I can play it (even if it takes years)...
damn you Nintendo! Why must you torment us!?
Our lofty goal:
[s]$2,500[/s]
[s]$4,000[/s]
[s]$5,000[/s]
[s]$6,000[/s]
$7,416.55 raised in two weeks!
And the Mother 3 came down from the heavens, and the English speaking people rejoiced.
Where's Lemon? I want him to send me back the copy of Mother 3 I gave him.
Also, this just goes to prove that Nintendo's a bunch of doofuses about listening to it's fans.
I hope for the sake of this project, that Nintendo buys the translation from them for a hefty sum and then sells the game, translated in English from their efforts here. It's the right thing to do.
@ dvddesign
That'd be sweet, and really good PR too. I'd love to see it converted to VC.
My pants are fucking soaked. MOTHER FUCKING DO WANT
Oh happiness!!!!
Does this mean the whole thing will be finished soon? That would be a wonderful Christmas present!
Yay Starmen.net! Boo Nintendo for not localizing this like they should have.
I think it's safe to say that I came. I came like a tropical storm in a rainforest.
DO WANT etc.
Awesome
Fuckin sweet.
oh come ON nintendo!
quit trying to squeeze out another pokemon spinoff and get some good honest citizens to translate mother 3!
putting lucas in brawl is only rubbing salt in the wounds.
I appreciate Starmen.net for their fanatical contribution to geeks everywhere. I really had little to no interest in EB2 until I saw this trailer, but now that I see it's not just another RPG - it's got humor as well - I may have to give it a shot.
@ dean: Judging from your comment, I'm guessing you've never played Earthbound. Go play it Now. You don't know what you're missing.
my face just exploded.
proof that nintendo does not cater to hardcore gamers (at least in america)! bring over mother 3!
i really hope they translated more than the first 10 minutes.
othgerwise starmen is a giant ball of unfiltered failure
According to their blog they translated the whole game, several times over in fact. But hacking is another issues.
Mother 3 was actually put together by Brownie Brown, and again according to the Starmen hackers blog, Brownie Brown used all sorts of different programming techniques for different parts of the game. So the hack that worked for the beginning of wont work for the middle, and so forth.
They still got a ways to go.
Well, we had Fire Emblem characters in Melee and eventually we started getting Fire Emblem games in the US. Maybe putting Lucas in Brawl is hinting that we'll start seeing some Mother 3 action in the future.
I am against emulation usually, but until Nintendo decides to officially bring this to the U.S., I would totally play the fan translation.
Nintendo should seriously just release an english version of this on the VC or something. I bet it would sell like hotcakes.